Leo Glodzik III took the witness stand at his theft trial Wednesday and blasted the prosecution's key witness as a "liar" who framed him. The 43-year-old towing contractor assured jurors he is no thief.

Glodzik's defense team went on the offensive Wednesday by claiming Glodzik was hit with bogus criminal charges orchestrated by a state trooper infuriated by the $350 fee Glodzik charged his father-in-law for a tow after a crash.

That trooper, Daniel Mimnaugh, went undercover to set up and entrap Glodzik as retribution, Glodzik's attorneys said.

"Mr. Mimnaugh is a liar," Glodzik said.

Luzerne County First Assistant District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce seemed incredulous Glodzik would accuse a veteran law officer of lying to the FBI and committing perjury at trial. He reminded jurors Glodzik's own actions and admissions on secret audio recordings debunk his claims from the witness stand - as it is clear, Sanguedolce said, that Glodzik was intent on taking seized drug money.

"Twenty years and I never had a theft, ever," Glodzik responded.

Glodzik testified for about two hours before testimony ended around 4 p.m. Wednesday. The defense is expected to briefly call one witness this morning before attorneys deliver closing arguments.

The owner of LAG Towing, Glodzik was Wilkes-Barre's exclusive towing contractor from April 2005 until he was suspended on May 31, 2013 after his arrest. Prosecutors claim Glodzik pocketed $2,100 in bait money from a car during an FBI sting operation in January 2013 after Mimnaugh called him to tow away a supposed drug dealer's car.

During his testimony, Glodzik said Mimnaugh ordered him to take money out of the ashtray of a car towed to his Wilkes-Barre lot.

"I went to hand the money to Mr. Mimnaugh and he said let's go into the office," Glodzik said.

Mimnaugh was on the phone at that point and an FBI agent swooped in to accuse him of theft, he said.

"I didn't put it my pocket. I didn't put it in the drawer. I had it in my hand," Glodzik said.

Glodzik said he had handed $1,100 to Mimnaugh while he was on the phone because he thought Mimnaugh made a hand motion to give him that amount. Perhaps, it was the initial buy money for an undercover drug bust, he said.

No way, Mimnaugh testified Wednesday. Glodzik quickly fell for Mimnaugh's act that he was a dirty cop and Glodzik was trying to split the cash with him, Mimnaugh said.

During their second meeting after offering Glodzik the role as exclusive tower for a secret state police task force, Glodzik told him he could leave cash behind in cars and made hand motions to leave the money under the seat, Mimnaugh said, interpreting one of the conversations played for the jury to hear.

"I said to him, we just met," Mimnaugh recalled. "It kinda through me for a loop."

Glodzik's attorney Joseph Sklarosky Sr. insisted Mimnaugh had a vendetta against Glodzik and there was a conflict in his role as business complainant and government "star witness."

"You wanted to see him lose his livelihood, his business, didn't you?" the attorney asked.

Mimnaugh responded he doesn't "believe a businessman should be ripping people off."

Glodzik's tenure as the city's towing contractor was marred by allegations of price gouging and overbilling, prompting angry residents and city council to urge Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton to launch an internal review of his practices. An arbitrator ruled in January that Glodzik will remain suspended pending the outcome of his criminal case.

Defense attorneys for Glodzik claim he was the victim of illegal "entrapment," or when law enforcement coerces someone to commit crimes they didn't want to commit.

On Wednesday, Glodzik testified he declined repeated phone calls to perform the tow for Mimnaugh on Jan. 29, 2013 because it was his day off, he had had few beers, he took a Xanax pill and wanted to relax at home. But Mimnaugh repeatedly called and "insisted" he had to do the work and not his assistants as Glodzik suggested, Glodzik said.

"He said you have to come. I want you here," Glodzik said. "I received a call from my driver saying the trooper is not going to let him take the car."

Mimnaugh said Glodzik was interested, especially after being told about a few thousand dollars left in an ashtray. He agreed to meet at LAG Towing, he said.

Glodzik's attorneys claim federal and state authorities filed the charges in retribution because he didn't have incriminating evidence they thought he had against Leighton, Wilkes-Barre police officers and other city officials.

Sklarosky told the court that Mimnaugh, after accusing Glodzik of theft, grilled him about his relationship with Leighton, saying, "the mayor is dirty and I know it." FBI Agent Joseph Noone questioned whether he was "giving the mayor of Wilkes-Barre cash payments in order to hold your towing contract?" Sklarosky said.

Sklarosky noted Glodzik was charged May 31, 2013, more than four months after the alleged incident.

"You held a hammer over his head," Sklarosky said. "As soon as he said he didn't have the information you wanted, bang, you arrest him. Now, he's ruined financially."

Prosecutors said Glodzik was questioned and sought extensively by investigators because, after being confronted about the theft, he promised to deliver details to federal investigators about "something big" he could expose.

In addition to the alleged theft, Glodzik has been the subject of many personal and financial controversies, including a $519,168 state lien for unpaid personal income taxes. In March, The Citizens' Voice revealed the FBI is looking at possible connections among Wilkes-Barre police officers, auto loans and Glodzik as part of a wider federal investigation in the city.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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